The present invention is in the field of communication techniques and relates to a communication method and system utilizing a specific communication code.
When people meet for business purposes, it is commonly practiced to exchange business cards containing relevant information for future contacts. A business card usually contains data pertaining to the following: name, occupation, company, position and addresses relative to communication systems such as mail, phone, fax, e-mail and the like.
Business cards gathered from other parties are usually kept for the purpose of exchanging information or in the expectation of performing various transactions. The assumption is that the parties involved will use the addresses for establishing future relations that may result in business dealings. Since the information held in the business cards is of importance, they are carefully filed and ordered. Usually, the data of the cards is painstakingly typed, or scanned, to create computer files that are easier to maintain. It is needless to say that the handling and filing of business cards is cumbersome and time-consuming.
As time passes, it is usual for changes to occur in at least some of the data contained in a business card. Although names tend to remain the same, positions, occupations and many kinds of addresses are modified quite often. For example, a person may be promoted to a higher position in another division, may leave for another company or, as frequently occurs, a phone, facsimile or e-mail address is modified. These are all xe2x80x9cdynamicxe2x80x9d changes that take place in everyday life.
Thus, data printed on the business card remains valid only until changes take place in any one of the many data it displays. Therefore, as a result of these changes, it often becomes difficult to communicate with other parties.
Such changes compel the owner of the business card to print a new version of the card, and then to distribute it to his contacts. It would therefore be advantageous to all sides to provide the receiver of a business card with the latest edited version of the card, whenever such editing occurs. However, such an endeavour would require the card owner to send a new card to all his previous contacts each time modifications are made, assuming that it were possible to recall to whom they were distributed originally, and further assuming that the addresses of these receivers have not undergone any change themselves. In practice, both assumptions make such a task only partly achievable, at best. Even if so, the data receiver would still be left with the burden of filing the edited versions of the cards as they arrive.
Quite frequently, names and addresses are published in listings or in public, such as in telephone books and in various advertisements, without any knowledge regarding those who had initially been receivers of the data. In such instances, it is completely impossible to even try to approach the receivers, and there are no easy ways to notify these receivers of the fact that changes have occurred.
Various personal communication techniques have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,863 discloses a communication technique aimed at timesaving in retrieving personal information for real-time processes such as a conference call. The technique utilizes a business card in the form of a data structure comprising information commonly found in business cards, and the particular user""s PC conference connection address. To contact a certain person, a user must search for the addressed person""s name in the list and, upon finding him, the user will receive a xe2x80x9ccard imagexe2x80x9d on his display. It is evident that this technique suffers from the following drawbacks. On the one hand, it obliges the user to establish an on-line connection with a server containing the data structure for searching. On the other hand, it provides no privacy for a card owner, since once he has designed and stored his xe2x80x9cbusiness card imagexe2x80x9d in the data structure, his name appears in the list, and anyone can have access to unload his personal data.
Another communication technique is proposed by the Internet site xe2x80x9cPlanetAllxe2x80x9d, and is based on managing a personal address book. PlanetAll acts as an Internet Service Provider owning a central database for maintaining a personal address book. Each subscriber to PlanetAll is allowed to create his personal address book in the central database. Upon mutual consent of a first subscriber and a second subscriber to PlanetAll, the contact particulars of the first subscriber are transmitted from his address book to the address book of the second subscriber. Additionally, the address book of the second subscriber is automatically updated with the relevant changes whenever they occur in the address book of the first subscriber. All these address books reside within the central database belonging to PlanetAll. Thus, each PlanetAll subscriber has his personal address book maintained at the Service Provider""s side. Consequently, to gain access to his personal address book, the subscriber needs to establish an on-line connection with the Service Provider. Moreover, to obtain permission of one of the subscribers for the automatic transmission of his contact particulars to another subscriber, the Service Provider has to invoke a specific procedure. With the Internet, the User Resource Locator (URL) is typically utilized to present up to date information to receivers. This technique suffers from numerous drawbacks, as it always requires the active intervention of the user, the time consuming process of getting on-line, accessing addresses and waiting for the results.
The Internet site xe2x80x9cICQxe2x80x9d proposes a communication technique developed by Mirabilis Ltd. This technique utilizes a Client Program and a central database, and is aimed at facilitating on-line communication (e.g., Internet Chats, messaging, etc.) between subscribers to ICQ. Once a xe2x80x9cfirst subscriberxe2x80x9d to the Internet downloads the ICQ Client Program to his personal computer and thereby becomes a subscriber to ICQ, each time he goes on-line, he will be provided with an indication that a xe2x80x9csecond subscriberxe2x80x9d is also on-line at that time. This xe2x80x9csecond subscriberxe2x80x9d (or more than on subscriber) is previously selected (chosen) by the xe2x80x9cfirst subscriberxe2x80x9d and recorded as associated with the xe2x80x9cfirst subscriberxe2x80x9d for further indications to the xe2x80x9cfirst subscriberxe2x80x9d. Additionally, ICQ allows any subscriber thereto to create and operate his own personal address book. This address book includes personal data of other subscribers to ICQ, per the choice of the owner of the address book. The address book is created at the subscriber side (i.e., in his personal computer), and can be updated with any changes in the personal data of those subscribers who are recorded in the address book.
However, to perform this updating, the address book owner needs to go on-line for accessing the ICQ central database. In other words, the updating procedure is carried out in response to a specific request from the address book owner. This technique does not allow for managing the personal address books of ICQ subscribers by the central database. As a result, any subscriber, before using personal data recorded in his address book for contacting a corresponding subscriber, has to check the actuality of data stored in the address book by establishing an on-line connection with the central database through the Internet.
There is accordingly a need in the art to improve communication techniques, in particular, so-called xe2x80x9ckeeping in touchxe2x80x9d techniques, by providing a novel communication and updating method and system utilizing a communication code.
It is a major object of the present invention to provide such a method that allows any receiver of a communication code to obtain corresponding information belonging to the owner of this communication, and successfully contact the code owner in a very simple and convenient way, whenever the code receiver desires, even if a significant amount of time has passed from the date he received the code.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system which in most cases frees both the code owner and the code receiver from the need to purchase any equipment in addition to that usually provided at an individual""s home or office.
It is a still further object of the present invention to allow the code owner to select what information he wishes to deliver and to whom, and keep the information receivers up to date of all changes introduced by the code owner to the information.
The present invention takes advantage of the fact that the world is undergoing a so-called xe2x80x9ccommunication revolutionxe2x80x9d. More people worldwide are provided with personal Digital Communication Devices (phone device, computers, pagers, PDAs) connected to one or more networks. Accordingly, an individual typically has several personal communication addresses that have to be maintained. Furthermore, each individual has to manage a growing list of addresses of persons with whom contacts have to be maintained. Each record of individual""s personal data, typically presented on his business card contains increasing amount of information, such as his telephone number, mobile phone number, fax number, E-mail and mailing addresses, etc. All this information has to be stored, manually entered into the individual""s personal address book, and manually updated later on in each of his personal digital communication devices. With this technique, information in the personal address book is definitely rarely up to date, because the details of this information is dynamically changing. Keeping the information stored in personal address books up to date in an automatic and transparent manner to the user, is a very important component of the entire communication process.
Thus, the main idea of the present invention consists of the following. Most people today have business cards, especially those performing specific functions in companies. People exchange their business cards whilst meeting each other and wishing to communicate in the future. A card owner desires a card receiver to whom he has delivered his business card to have a simple way of xe2x80x9ckeeping in touchxe2x80x9d. To this end, an individual or any other authorized person creates the individual""s own data record containing his personal information or any other information he wishes to deliver to others, for example, that typically contained in a business card: name, position, mail address, fax and telephone numbers, Email, etc. This data record may comprise an attachment, for example a file containing a text and/or picture. The data record, or the address where this data record is maintained, is stored in the database of a manager utility. The individual receives a unique communication code generated by the manager utility, thereby becoming the xe2x80x9ccode ownerxe2x80x9d. The code owner applies his own communication code to his business card, letter-head, or the like, and delivers it to people with whom he wishes to xe2x80x9ckeep in touchxe2x80x9d. An individual who was given the unique communication code (for example, issued on the business card of the code owner) becomes the xe2x80x9ccode receiverxe2x80x9d. The communication code serves as the address of the specific data record maintained in the database of the manager utility. Hence, the code receiver may use this address to obtain the code owner""s information entered in the corresponding data record. Obviously, an individual may be the owner of several communication codes corresponding to different data records belonging to him.
The code owner, as well as the code receiver, typically has at least one personal communication unit at his disposal, for example, a personal computer or a phone device. Such a personal communication unit is typically a node of at least one popular network. Indeed, every phone device is associated with a Telephone Company, while almost every computer is connectable to the Internet by means of an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The telephone network may be xe2x80x9cPublic Switched Telephone Networkxe2x80x9d (PSTN), or the xe2x80x9cIntegrated Service Digital Networkxe2x80x9d (ISDN). The main principles of these types of telephone networks are known per se, and therefore need not be described in detail, except to note the following. PSTN is a communication common carrier network that provides voice and data communication services over switched lines. ISDN is a type of digital end-to-end telecommunication network, that supports multiple services, including voice and data. ISDN lines can transmit digital data as well as voice without a modem. ISDN is used in public and private network architectures.
The term xe2x80x9cmanager utilityxe2x80x9d used herein signifies software and/or hardware installed at remote communication devices connectable to each other through a communication link. This utility is capable of utilizing hardware and software typically installed in the corresponding communication device for creating and/or managing a database in a memory of this device. These communication devices may be either personal communication devices, or personal communication devices and server utilities of corresponding networks.
The system allows each code owner to be aware of all his associated code receivers. Additionally, the system, on the one hand, allows the code owner to keep his data record up to date, and, on the other hand, automatically updates the registered receivers associated with this specific code with all the changes made. The system enables the code receiver, as well as the code owner, to create their own private databases. Each private database may be stored in the memory of the personal communication unit of the respective user, in the central database or in both.
To enjoy all the advantageous features of the present invention, the code owner, as well as the code receiver, should have a predetermined software package (xe2x80x9cUser Programxe2x80x9d) installed in his personal communication unit, for example by downloading this software package from the network (e.g. the Internet). If a phone device serves as a communication unit, it should be of the so-called xe2x80x9csmart typexe2x80x9d equipped with a certain programming/interface utility, for example in the form of a chip with an embedded application, such as a known Single In-line Memory Module (SIMM). Such a smart-type phone device can be used as both a phone and portable computer capable of running a suitable application, which is the predetermined xe2x80x9cUser Programxe2x80x9d for the purposes of the present invention.
The manager utility may be a central database manager associated with the network""s server. In this case, in order to store the data record in the central database and to receive the communication code assigned to him by the central database manager, the code owner connects to the central database manager via the network. The code receiver, in order to obtain the information presented on the received business card, in the most convenient and available manner, accesses the central database manager from his personal communication unit through the network. The manager transmits the information included in the requested data record to the code receiver, and registers the code receiver in the central database as a receiver associated with this specific code owner.
The private database may be maintained only at the corresponding user""s side (i.e., in his personal communication unit). In this case, the User Programs, installed in the communication units, by themselves may serve as the manager utility.
In a case that some of the users prefer to have their private databases maintained in their personal communication units only, and others prefer to utilize the central database for this purpose, the User Programs, together with the central database manager, serve as the manager utility.
There is thus provided according to one aspect of the present invention, a communication method between an owner of at least one communication code and a receiver of said at least one communication code utilizing a manager utility, the method comprising the steps of:
at the code owner side:
(a) creating a data record containing information belonging to the code owner, and feeding said data record to the manager utility,
(b) receiving the at least one communication code associated with at least a predetermined part of the information included in said data record;
at the code receiver side, upon receiving said at least one communication code:
(c) feeding said at least one communication code to the manager utility;
(d) receiving data representative of said at least predetermined part of the information contained in the data record of the code owner;
at the manager utility:
(e) upon the receipt of said data record, storing it and assigning said at least one communication code to the data record owner;
(f) upon the receipt of said at least one communication code from the code receiver, transmitting at least said predetermined part of the stored information of the code owner to said code receiver.
Preferably, the code receiver and the code owner have their personal communication devices, which are nodes of a network. According to one embodiment of the invention, the manager utility is a central database manager associated with a server utility of this network. The central database manager belongs to either the network""s server of to an additional Service Provider (SP) coupled to the network""s server. According to another embodiment of the invention, User Programs installed in the personal communication devices constitute the manager utility.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system utilizing a network having a server utility and communication units associated with different network subscribers, the system comprising a central database manager associated with said server utility, wherein
the central database contains data representative of a plurality of data records, each data record containing information belonging to the corresponding subscriber and being associated with at least one communication code assigned to at least a predetermined part of the information of the corresponding subscriber who is the owner of said at least one code;
the central database manager comprises:
a communication utility that receives data addressed to the central database and transmitted through said network, and transmits data from said central database to a corresponding one of said communication units through the network;
an identification utility coupled to said communication utility for identifying said data addressed to the manager as a certain request to the central database; and
a central processor utility that is coupled to the communication utility and to the identification utility, and is associated with said central database, the central processor utility being responsive to the request data for generating data representative of said at least predetermined part of the information included in the corresponding data record, when the request data is representative of said at least one communication code, and, when the request data is representative of the data record, for storing the information included in the data record in the central database and assigning said at least one communication code to the corresponding subscriber.
The network may be either a computer or a telephone network, or a combination of both. The subscriber""s communication unit may be a personal computer, a phone device or the like.
The data record may have more than one corresponding communication code, For example, the code owner designs his data record having several information parts, and decides to deliver different parts to different persons. This is implemented by assigning to each information part its own communication code. More than one communication code could be applied to the same business card. For example, one such communication code may be a so-called xe2x80x9cbusiness codexe2x80x9d, associated with the position of the code owner in a company he works, and the other communication code may be a so-called xe2x80x9cpersonal codexe2x80x9d, associated with the personal data of the code owner, irrespectively of his position in the company.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for providing communication between first and second subscribers to a network, the system comprising:
a personal communication unit of the first subscriber and a personal communication unit of the second subscriber, the first and second units being connectable to each other through the network; and
a manager utility including a first software package installed in the first personal communication unit and a similar, second software package installed in the second personal communication unit, wherein
the first software package is responsive to data coming from the network and addressed to the first communication unit, so as to selectively generate corresponding notification messages to the first subscriber, to manage a private data base of the first subscriber, and to transmit predetermined data from the private database of the first subscriber to the second subscriber, and is responsive to data entered into the personal communication unit of the first subscriber to assign at least one communication code to the first subscriber;
the second software package is responsive to data coming from the network and addressed to the second communication unit, so as to selectively generate corresponding notification messages to the second subscriber, to manage a private data base of the second subscriber, and to transmit predetermined data from the private database of the second subscriber to the first subscriber, and is responsive to data entered into the personal communication unit of the second subscriber to assign at least one communication code to the second subscriber.